18 AND ALONE IN CHILE’S FJORDS
Most first solo voyages are in familiar waters, but Loris Pattinson chose the difficult passage through the twisting channels of Chile
One teenager’s tale of his first solo trip
‘The first two-and-a-half weeks were fraught with tremendous storms, horizontal rain and sleet, funnelled winds and ‘bergy bits’, which were translucent lumps of ice, largely resembling at a distance, the crest of a wave, which made every breaking wave suspect.
I had to be constantly looking out for hazards.’
It was a steep learning curve for 18-year-old Scottish skipper Loris Pattinson, who was sailing Aisling, a 50-year-old 31ft Rustler, solo through the maze of Chile’s fjords and channels.
It had not started out that way. Pattinson had answered an advert placed by Dan Stroud, who was looking for unpaid crew to help him sail the three-month voyage from the Argentinian resort of Ushuaia to Puerto Montt in southern Chile during the southern hemisphere summer. Having doublehanded through the Tierra Del Fuego and Strait of Magellan to Puerto Edén, a family emergency meant Stroud had to fly home, leaving Pattinson solo.
‘He said to me, ‘You can either stay here in Puerto Edén for a month polishing brass or you can sail the remaining 600 miles to Puerto Montt.’ I opted for the latter. As an 18-year-old it isn’t often you get an opportunity to sail solo, especially not in a region so remote and unspoiled. Needless to say, my parents weren’t thrilled by the prospect of their son, fresh out of school, being battered by the elements in the South Pacific Ocean at the mercy of the gods,’ explained Pattinson, who has been sailing since he was seven.
The RYA Day skipper began his first solo voyage at exactly 1100 on 18 January. His first challenge was navigating a narrow channel just north of Puerto Edén, so notorious for its 9-knot riptides that local fishermen have erected a shrine to the Virgin Mary for protection.
‘At slack water, there was still the convergence of two tides, causing me at one point to be spun 360° in a narrow space, no more than 200 m wide, and be pushed towards the shrine,’ he explained.
NAVIGATING A TEMPESTUOUS SEA
From then on caution was Pattinson’s watchword, as he inched his way further north to the mouth of the Canal Messier, battling northerly winds and seeking shelter in the narrow caletas. His plan was to then cross the ominously named Golfo de Penas, known in English as the Gulf of Sorrow or Distress. The protected caletas were not always as welcoming as they could have been. In Caleta Point Lay, a tree fell during high winds, missing Aisling by inches, although it clipped the Rustler’s flag pole at the stern. They also had their highlights, too, with spectacular Caleta Yvonne giving the former Gordonstoun School student the chance to kayak through the half frozen Seno Iceberg to explore the mile-long craggy face of a glacier.
Pattinson was also learning that sailing in such a remote and wild place, which attracts few sailors, meant that charts were not always reliable, and equipment can break.
‘The charts were largely inaccurate, or not filled in, meaning I found rocks in the middle of anchorages which I narrowly avoided,’ he said.
‘Part way through the voyage, the echo sounder gave up on life, likely due to moisture, and this made navigating these already dangerous waters even more risky.’
From Caleta Lamento del Indio, Pattinson made his first attempt to cross the Golfo de Penas to Puerto Aguirre, but northeasterly winds whipped up a confused sea, and he made ‘a hasty retreat’ to Caleta Ideal. A day later he set off again for the 45-hour passage across the gulf, in a 7m swell, which caused him to be ‘thrown around like a rag doll in the mouth of a pit bull terrier’ although ‘nothing could have made me happier.’
‘As Old Gordonstounian Prince Philip, once said, “The sea is an extraordinary master or mistress. It has such extraordinary moods that sometimes you feel this is the only sort of life, and 10 minutes later you’re praying for death.” Sailing across Penas at that time was one of those moments where I thought this was the only sort of life to lead,’ reflected Pattinson.
Although solo, he had plenty of company on his passage, with whales and dolphins making regular appearances. There were also numerous challenges, with thick fog reducing visibility as he approached the Peninsula Tres Montes, one of the busiest stretches of water in the Chilean channels.
‘I sat on deck, unable to catch much-needed sleep, with the fog horn, a plastic trumpet, barely audible over the noise of an engine,’ he recalled.
The final stretch of the passage was at night and was the most challenging, especially with no radar, depth sounder or moon to light the way.
‘I slalomed between the fish farms, sandbanks at 0.4m datum and through three channels, the widest of which was 240ft wide, the narrowest 90ft. Approaching these channels I was edging towards them at half a knot, the entrances unapparent until the last minute with my low power spotlight. Had there been any other option other than to go through here, I would have gladly taken it,’ noted Pattinson. As he passed Bahía Anna Pink, the weather also changed, and having set off wearing ski goggles and thermals, he ended his longest leg with his head wrapped in a scarf to prevent sunburn. The following day, he sailed to Puerto Aguirre, a welcome sight for a skipper sick of a diet of cabbage and porridge and craving steak and beer. With no fridge or shower onboard, cruising Aisling meant accepting the simple life.
At the port, he managed to phone family and friends and restock on supplies. It also gave him time to reflect on his voyage so far,
Sailing across Penas was one of those moments where I thought this was the only sort of life to lead
GLORIOUS ISOLATION
He continued to Puerto Cisnes and Puerto Melinka, where engine trouble as a result of a split coolant hose gave Pattinson the chance to go fishing with the locals for Spanish mackerel, although the fish he caught barely resembled the mackerel he used to fish for in north-west Scotland.
With the voyage nearing its completion, Pattinson contacted Stroud, to ask him if he would fly back to Chile, allowing them to have one last sail together before Stroud and Aisling continued their circumnavigation. He met Pattinson in Quellón, the start of the Pan-american highway, before cruising to Puerto Montt. After 575 miles of solo sailing, Pattinson said he quickly learned how essential it is to have more than one back up plan. He would also encourage more sailors to visit Chile. ‘The scale of the mountains, fjords and glaciers; the abundance of marine life and the feeling you are the only person on Earth that feels so alive at that moment, is an experience I will never forget,’ he said, although advised that it is easier to sail south through the Chilean fjords rather than heading north where ‘the slightest bit of wind is like repetitively slamming into a wall.’
Pattinson has now returned home and bought a Bradwell 18. He plans to circumnavigate Britain on Little Fish of Ross in June 2020 with volunteers, to try and raise awareness of plastic pollution. 35 locations, raising money as they go for the Marine Conservation Society and the Howard Doris Centre in Scotland.